Outdoor Gear Builders of WNC Get in Gear Fest

Bigger, Better Get In Gear Fest Returns This Spring

Outdoor Gear Builders Host Second Annual Get in Gear Fest, Asheville, NC – January 18, 2016. The Outdoor Gear Builders of Western North Carolina are pleased to announce their Second Annual Get in Gear Fest. This free event will take place from 11 am to 5 pm on Saturday, March 19 at RiverLink Plaza in Asheville and will once again benefit RiverLink, a local nonprofit that works to revitalize the French Broad River.

The Blue Ridge Mountains are a mecca for hikers, bikers and paddlers alike, but not everyone realizes just how much of the adventure gear they’re using is manufactured right in Western North Carolina (WNC). At Get in Gear Fest, outdoor enthusiasts from across the region can get hands-on with locally designed and manufactured gear as they get ready for the spring season, compete in exciting events and races, and meet the people who design and make the gear they use to get outside and play.

“We want the WNC community to see and try the amazing and innovative products that are being made in their own backyard,” says Kyle Mundt, Director of Marketing and New Product Development for SylvanSport and one of the founders of the Outdoor Gear Builders. “This is a great chance for all these great companies to get together and show our community what’s new for 2016.”

Visitors will be able to see firsthand, the thriving outdoor gear manufacturing industry that is represented by the Outdoor Gear Builders of WNC, and how the region’s status as an outdoor recreation hotspot and its history of high-quality manufacturing have combined to make a powerful new economic force. According to the Outdoor Industry Association, the outdoor industry in North Carolina now employs almost 200,000 people and generates $1.3 billion in tax revenues for the state.

In addition to the great equipment, games, and people on hand will be new features and events including a unique, family-friendly Adventure Races, gear raffle, auction, a beer garden with an extensive selection of local craft beers on tap, live music and the Squeezebox National Championships, with proceeds all benefitting local nonprofits.

The Second Annual Get in Gear Fest is made possible by the support of the members of the Outdoor Gear Builders of WNC, as well as local companies including: Prestige Subaru, Signarama, Mountain Biz Works, The Katuah Consultancy, JB Media Group, 98.1 The River, 105.9 The Mountain, and a great collection of WNC craft brewers.